ALBANY SPORTS HALL OF FAME: Wilburn Campbell, Jr. not boastful about professional career

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of stories profiling the four members of the 2016 class being inducted into the Albany Sports Hall of Fame.

ALBANY — Dr. Wilburn Campbell’s professional resume is more than 14 pages which detail the longtime teacher, coach, athletic director and author’s achievements.

But getting him to talk about his accomplishments is challenging.

“It’s not about me,” said Campbell, the longtime athletic director at Albany State who will be one of four inducted into the Albany Sports Hall of Fame Monday night at the Hilton Garden Inn.

“One of the greatest things is the relationships I was able to build with young athletes and students. I still have them come up and thank me for the things I did. But I really can’t pinpoint the things I did for them.”

Campbell came to Albany State in 1968 as a teacher who immediately inherited the swimming program. His love for water and young people made him an instant success. He guided the program to five conference titles and two National Black Swimming and Diving championships.

He continued to coach the swim team until 1981 when lack of funding and Title IX forced the program to disband. He also spent time coaching track and field.

Campbell was named the athletic director in 1975 and served until 1995. He along with President Billy Black, finance manager William Johnson and coach Hamp Smith ignited a fledgling football program that struggled for attendance into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

“He did a good job at Albany State,” Smith said. “He didn’t mind working well with people and when you work with people really well, you get a lot accomplished.”

Campbell was quick to credit other dignitaries.

“Those guys were the catalysts,” Campbell said. “I always believe in giving credit to those on the front line, and I have enough sense to realize that I couldn’t do all of those things on my own.”

He said one of his proudest moments came when he along with Albany Civic Center Director Irwin Ellis helped bring the Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament to the Albany Civic Center in 1987-88. He said more than 33,000 attended the tournament.

“I knew Liz Murphrey, who was the women’s athletic director at Georgia and Dee Matthews, who was known as Ms. Georgia around here,” Campbell said. ‘We pulled together and was successful in bringing the tournament here in a matter of weeks. When some of the other cities saw how successful it was, they started making bids to host. That’s when it moved away.”

Campbell has served in a number of civic organizations as well as boards, both locally and nationally. He served as chairman of the NCAA Division II Basketball Committee for eight years and also served as Football Committee Chairman.

He spent many years volunteering for the American Red Cross where he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to the United States Coast Guard Advisory Committee.

Another of his impressive achievements was being recognized by the National Association of HPER Aquatics as the Aquatic Person on the Year.

“I had a beautiful career at Albany State,” he said. “But one of the things I enjoyed most was serving as a catalyst for the National Youth Sports Program. It’s still going and the only one still going in the country.”

Campbell has written several books on swimming and his work has been published in several magazines and newsletters.

He has few regrets from his professional career. However, when he takes the stage Monday night for his induction, he said his biggest regret is that his wife Carlotta “Bunny” Campbell and daughter Consuelo, won’t be in attendance. Mrs. Campbell passed away last October, then Consuelo passed in December.